Influence of Integrated Nutrient Management on Growth, Yield and Quality of Okra [ Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench] cv. Arka Anamika

An investigation using farm yard manure (FYM) and graded doses of N,P,K along with different biofertilizers viz., Azophos, Methylobacterium and Azophosmet on growth, yield and quality of okra [ Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench] was conducted at Department of Horticulture, Agricultural College and Research Institute, Madurai. The experiment revealed that the growth attributes viz ., plant height and number of leaves and the yield parameters such as number of fruits per plant, fresh weight of fruit, fruit length, fruit girth, and yield per hectare registered the highest values by the application of 50 per cent recommended dose of N, P and 100 per cent recommended dose of K + 2 kg Azophosmet per ha. Low crude fibre content was exhibited in the plants applied with 50 per cent recommended dose of N, P and 100 per cent recommended dose of K +2 kg Azophosmet per ha.


Materials and Methods
An investigation was conducted to study the effect of organic manures like Farm yard manure (FYM -25t/ha) and graded doses of N,P,K along with different biofertilizers viz., Azophos, Methylobacterium and Azophosmet on growth, yield and quality of okra [Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench] var.Arka Anamika at Department of Horticulture, Agricultural College and Research Institute, Madurai, during (August, 2010to November, 2010) and the second experiment was carried out during (December, 2010to March, 2011).The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design with three replications.
*Corresponding author email: hortimac@tnau.ac.in The potassium was applied at 100% RDF uniformly to all the treatments.Seeds were treated with Azophos, Methylo bacterium and Azophosmet each at 200 g and sown at different treatment combinations with plant to plant spacing of 30 cm and row to row 45 cm by simple hand dibbling.Remaining quantity of Azophos, Methylobacterium and Azophosmet @ 1.8 kg each was applied in the soil along with the FYM before sowing the seed.According to treatment structure Methylobacterium was sprayed at two times 300ml/ ha during 25 and 35 days after sowing.Observations on growth, yield and quality parameters of both seasons crop were recorded.
The application of organics helps the soil microorganisms to produce polysaccharides and thus build better soil structure.N fixation and P solubilization were reported to be due to the improved microbial activity in the organically amended soil (Balasubramanian, 1972).organic manures improved the soil structure, texture, tilth and availability of macro nutrients and thereby increased yield (Biswas, 1971 andGaur et al., (1972).The increase in the number of fruits over control may be due to the increased amount of food manufactured by foliage and increased accumulation of sink.Azophosmet inoculation treatment with inorganic fertilizers had increased the yield in both the seasons.Priya 2011 reported similar results in brinjal using Azophosmet.The results are in close conformity with the earlier findings in okra (Veeragavathatham et al., 1988),Onion (Gurubatham et al., 1989), Cabbage (Jeeva Jothi et al., 1993), Chilli (Paramaguru and Natarajan, 1993), Onion (Sankar, 1995) carrot (Wange, 1996) and Brinjal (Anburani and Manivannan, 2002).

Quality parameters
The treatment T10 had the least crude fibre content (6.99 and 7.00 per cent) and the treatment T1 had highest crude fibre content (7.82 and 7.63 per cent) during first and second seasons respectively (Fig. 1).Nitrogen had a negative influence on the crude fibre content in the present study.Application of Azophosmet in okra balanced the N content requirement and made the low crude fibre content which is considered as desirable character (Balasubramani, 1988).Decreased crude fibre due to increased N application has been observed earlier in okra (Mani and Ramanathan, 1981a).

Conclusion
In conclusion, the treatment T10 (50% NP RDF + 100% K RDF + 2 kg Azophosmet) registered highest values for growth attributes viz., plant height and number of leaves, yield parameters such as number of fruits per plant, fresh weight of fruit, fruit length, fruit girth, yield per hectare with low fibre content of fruits in okra.